“The Crown will be seeking jail time for those not showing up in court,” said Nathanson, a per diem Crown in the Sydney office of the Public Prosecution Service.

Nathanson

Speaking during an interview last week, Nathanson said he wants the message to get out that while offenders may think it’s not a big deal not to attend court, the Crown has a different view.

“I’m in court five days a week and I see it every day and the bottom line has to be a jail sentence,” he said.

During provincial court proceedings one day last week, Nathanson was presented with three cases where the individual offenders were charged with breaching release conditions, including two offenders who breached by failing to attend court.

Depending on the nature of the charge, an offender can be released on an undertaking issued by police or must appear before a judge to determine if release is appropriate.

In either case, each release comes with conditions, including standard clauses ordering the offender to keep the peace and be of good behaviour and attend court when ordered. Such conditions are also found in probation orders.

“These (conditions) are not recommendations or suggestions. They are court orders that must be obeyed,” provincial court Judge Diane McGrath said in addressing one of the accused.

McGrath and other judges routinely ask offenders if they agree with the conditions listed by the Crown and if they promise to abide by them.

Inevitably, the answer from the offender is always a solemn “Yes,” they will obey the conditions, but a growing number appear committed to abide by the conditions for a brief period before embarking on a pattern of breaching the orders.

Such orders also include clauses for curfew, refraining from alcohol and drugs not prescribed to them, and having no contact with victims and others involved in the case.

In addressing one of the cases, Nathanson noted the male offender was to abide by a curfew but decided to take the chance and left his residence for a 30 minutes to go to a coffee shop. He was later arrested for breaching his conditions.

“That half-hour resulted in him serving four days in jail while he waited for another bail hearing,” said Nathanson.

The offender was again released on stricter conditions.

In other cases, the offenders were subject of arrest warrants because they failed to attend court. They turned themselves in to the court and spent the night in jail before again being released on conditions.

The three accused can now either plead guilty to the breaches or have a trial date set.

The Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees anyone charged with an offence the right not to be denied reasonable bail without just cause. The onus is on the Crown to prove why a person should not be released.

When charged with breaching release conditions, the onus at the bail hearing falls to the accused to prove why they should be released again.

According to the prosecution service’s statistics, there were 4,341 offenders in Nova Scotia in 2015-16 charged with breaching their probation conditions compared to 4,546 charged in 2014-15.

Charges for breaching other court orders totaled 8,644 in 2015-16 compared to 9,096 in 2014-15.